Another blast of fire, another rain of burning wood. Shadow pulled his head back as a smoking fern tree fell towards him. The next blast could hit us.
“That’s it, then!”
Shadow held up his small silver talisman. It hissed very faintly as if it breathed in. “I’m sorry, Shine. I know she’s your cousin, but I’m going to have to shoot her out of that tree. Maybe kill her.”
“With that little thing?” It looked nothing like Scintillant’s firework tube.
“Sure,” he hissed back. “It fires a bolt of light that burns. Just like she does.”
No wonder he kept pulling it out when we were in danger. But that little thing? It was only a tenth the size of Scintillant’s gun. Still, at this point I was willing to clutch at any straw.
“Go on,” I hissed. The ghost held the tube up and took aim at Chatoyant, who was breathing in, marshalling her power in preparation for another blast.
“What in the Lady’s name do you think you are doing, Chatoyant Lucheyart?” yelled a clear voice above our heads. A figure streaked into the tree and landed with a loud crackle of branches beside Toy.
It was Klea! Klea to the rescue! Lady be praised. I almost stood up and cheered. But Shadow gripped my arm and shot me a warning look.
“I might ask the same of you, my lady. Looking for something else to sell, are you?” sneered Chatoyant.
Klea hit her. Not with magic; she punched Chatoyant in the face, catching her completely by surprise. Chatoyant fell backwards out of the tree and crashed down into the fern fronds, but she must have saved herself before she hit the ground, because she was on her feet again very quickly. Klea hovered over her, hands on hips.
“How dare you?” she screamed. I thought her very glare would set Toy alight. “Shine and her friend are under my protection. Go away and stay out of my business, you horrible dog. “
Chatoyant lifted her hand. Klea lifted hers to defend.
“What? You think you can take me? In the state you’re in? Come on! Try it! Give me an excuse to hurt you.”
Chatoyant’s head drooped. She breathed out.
“That’s right,” snarled Klea. “Now get out here. And take your useless rooster of a brother with you.”
“I’ll get you for this,” snarled Chatoyant.
“What? With poison, like you got Blazeann?”
“That was an accident! Nothing to do with me!”
“I know all about the poisoned smokeweed, Toy-Toy. Splendance’s get are on to you, girl. Go running back to your mama and ask her what to do next.”
The ferns bowed as Chatoyant flew away above us. A drop of her blood fell on my cheek as she went over. A moment later she flew back into view carrying Scintillant in front of her, and turned slowly away towards the river beyond the mountain. There was a town where you could catch a canal boat towards Elayison down there.
“Shine!” called Klea as she watched her go. “Shine! She’s gone. It’s safe to come out.”
“Shine, Bright!” called another voice. “Please where are you? Someone please answer!”
Eff was calling! My darling aunt must have come up the hill with Klea.
“Eff! I’m here,” I cried, standing up.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
BRIGHT LAY ON Uncle Batty’s old bunk. Stefan had washed and dressed the wound in his shoulder and Shadow had taken a look at him. The ghost marvelled again at how quickly my cousin’s wound was healing. There was nothing much he could do to speed up the process. The bullet, which was the name the ghost used to describe the small pellet of lead that Scinty’s gun had fired off, had already been expelled from the wound.
Eff and I hovered around, fretting, touching Bright’s cheeks and forehead to make sure they weren’t getting hot. Even a mage could get a fever.
We’d started talking to distract ourselves, but with both of us so on edge, maybe the argument that followed was inevitable. Eff started urging me to go up to Elayison and I said I needed to stay for the farm work as I always did. After I’d insisted the third time, Eff lost her temper and shouted at me.
“No!” she cried. “No, I want you to go up to Elayison with the ghost and stay there! Shadow could be ages finding your mother, and I won’t have you staying here while he does. Surely that merchant woman will still take you on in some capacity.”
“I don’t want to leave you, Eff. What if you get sick again?”
“What? Is that why you stay? You ridiculous child.”
I felt a moment of hurt at that, but she soothed it away by throwing her arms around me and planting a big kiss on my cheek.
“My darling child. It’s not your job to look after me. I’m a grown woman and your foster mother. I look after you. And I won’t have you staying here and sharing my exile. I couldn’t bear the guilt. You deserve to have your own try at an exciting life, and I know you want it. You won’t get that here in Willow.”
I teared up. Me, tearing up. But I was very worried about Bright. And my finger hurt like hell even though Shadow had bound it up.
“I’m not sure I want to go,” I said.
“Oh, Shine. Who are you trying to fool?”
I looked round the cottage. Bethel and the other Mooncats were standing around watching as Shadow washed and anointed the raw-looking burn on Dannel’s side with some kind of magical ointment out of his bag. But I had a feeling they were all listening to Eff and me.
“Will you be able to cope without me?” I dropped my voice, but Eff didn’t. She could be so indiscreet sometimes.
“Oh, pish! No, don’t get offended again. Now you’ve set everything up, surely Thomas can boss everyone around. Or one of the peasants. They’re not helpless, you know. Not helpless at all.”
She was right about that. Jar the innkeeper could organise most of what I did, or even Old Man Jenkal. All Eff would have to do was chair the village meetings. And she loved doing that stuff.
“But...”
“Look, I promise you I won’t get sick again.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“True. But I’ll order Thomas to send for you and Bright should I ever get like that again. Please. Go up to Elayison with this ghost and Klea. Deliver him to his embassy and find some kind of way to stay there. Auntie Four will help you. Go to that merchant. I can’t bear to see you rotting away here. Even working in a counting house would be better than this.”
“Stop that!” cried Shadow, but he wasn’t talking to me. He was struggling with Bethel the Mooncat woman, who was trying to rub some ointment of her own onto Dannel’s wound.
“It’s rogue paste,” said Eff, putting her glasses on her nose. “How interesting.” She looked at the Mooncats as if she was seeing them for the first time. I had a feeling they were about to be studied.
“What’s the matter?” I asked Shadow.
“She cannot put that on. She will dirty up the wound. Look, it’s full of grit. Stop it!” cried Shadow.
“He must have it on,” explained Bethel. “Otherwise he won’t be able to change.”
“Can you not wait for a couple of days till the wound is scabbed over?” begged Shadow. “That stuff will make it fester.”